New Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh relishes the challenge of deposing Celtic

New Rangers chairman Andrew Cavenagh says he relishes the challenge of taking on Celtic to knock them from the top of Scottish football – and believes they have the right man in the dugout to succeed.

Cavenagh was speaking after an Extraordinary General Meeting of the club’s shareholders that ratified the US consortium’s takeover at Ibrox, and paved the way for their initial £20m investment.

The American businessman spoke about his long-term vision for the club and how he and his fellow investors plan to deliver sustainable success, with domestic trophies and progress in Europe.

Winning silverware regularly in Scotland will mean overcoming their rivals, who have had a virtual stranglehold on trophies in recent years.

Cavenagh isn’t fazed by that task and when asked about “deposing” Celtic, he said the rivalry was important but he was determined to be on the winning side of it.

“We relish that challenge,” he said. “We’re impatient and competitive and so we look forward to the challenge.

“I think rivalry is one of the things that makes football great.

“Our rivalry with Celtic, we wouldn’t be quite the same without that rivalry. It’s top five in the world.

“Like Boca v River Plate, Rangers v Celtic, Lazio v Roma, those are the three that come to mind.

“It’s fantastic to have that rivalry, and again, we look forward to the challenge.

“We think it is achievable or we wouldn’t be here. We don’t think it will be easy.

“It is not going to happen instantaneously but we will strive to improve the on-field performance and we will continue to build the infrastructure of the club. If we didn’t think we could win we wouldn’t be here. We are here because we think we can.

“There is real work to be done, I think everyone is aware of that. Paraag (Marathe, vice-chairman) and I are two of the least patient people you will meet and we are also incredibly competitive so we share our supporters’ sense of urgency. We are in with both feet today and we will move this forward as fast as we can.”

Key to that success will be putting together a successful team on the pitch, and the biggest decision the new board has made in their first few weeks has been the appointment of former Southampton boss Russell Martin as head coach.

Martin came out on top after a number of candidates were considered, including former Real Madrid assistant boss Davide Ancelotti.

Cavenagh was happy to lay out how the decision was made and what makes him think Martin is the man to lead the new era at the club.

“There are four criteria that we looked at for head coach,” he explained.

“One, somebody that will coach what we think is the right style of play or game model.

“Two, who will build a culture in the way we think it needs to be built.

“Three, who can develop talent. And four, who can win matches.

“Russell is the stand-out across all of those metrics, unanimously amongst our team. We’re thrilled to have him as our head coach.”

The new owner, who along with his associates has bought 51%, also revealed his first contact over making a move to buy Rangers, and his impressions of the club and support.

“I was on the Upper East Side of Manhattan, outside a coffee shop, about to go to a New York Yankees game,” he said when asked about the initial call.

“I’ve known about Rangers forever as a football fan. So when the phone call came to ask if I’d have an interest, it was a lightning bolt moment.

“The call was from Les Allan, a banker in New York. I had met him six months prior, and he knew our group was interested in a rare but good opportunity in football.

“Les called me and I said absolutely. Three seconds later, I was on the phone to Paraag.

“There are many things about this club that are attractive. But the big three are the supporters – the breadth and depth of the fanbase is incredible.

“We’ve not seen many other clubs in Europe with this sort of scope and passion.

“Ibrox is an incredibly magical place to attend as a supporter.

“And the competitions in which we play, the league, the cups and Europe.”

Cavenagh has been a regular visitor to Glasgow in recent months as the deal was finalised and hea said there’s a special feeling that he got, even as someone who has seen plenty of clubs around the world as a supporter.

“It’s a physical experience when you walk upstairs at Ibrox,” he said.

“You walk up the marble stairs to the Blue Room and in the trophy room in particular you can just feel the history.

“There’s no other way to describe it. You walk in and instantly feel indebted to the people who have come before you.

“But you also have the desire to do everything you possibly can, not just to improve the history, but also to improve the trajectory.

“I’ve been a football fan all my life. I’ve been to five World Cups and five European Championships.

“I’ve been to countless matches. I think I did 14 new stadiums in the last year.

The last few months have been an incredible experience.

“One of my favourite moments in life is the five minutes before the match kicks off when you can feel the electricity.

“I was lucky to go to the match at Parkhead and it was incredible.

“I learned a couple of new phrases and gestures when I was there, but it was a fantastic experience.

“It was the first match where our fans were allowed back in and we had 2500 fans there. They were incredibly loud and vocal in showing their support.

“It was one of the best football experiences of my life.”